MOST-MENTIONED ATHLETES
Rather than break down the amount of time a specific sports figure was covered, we counted how frequently names were mentioned in the transcripts from the week. The 15 most-mentioned sports people for March 9-15:

Notes

Peytonology was stupid: The 10.75 minutes of Manning-focused coverage this week gave us updates on his visits to the Broncos, Dolphins, Cardinals, and Titans facilities, as well as some speculation from ESPN's football analysts. All in all, pretty conventional, by ESPN standards.

Advertisement

Advertisement

And then there was this:

Good god, ESPN. "Peytonology"? On Saturday, after recapping the latest Manning news, SportsCenter dragged college hoops bracket guru Joe Lunardi into the studio and had him break down Peyton Manning's suitors for nearly TWO MINUTES. He assigned seeds, and there was even a "First Four In" and "Last Four Out" graphic for those of us too stupid to keep up with the segment. Watching this was a little like watching ESPN fart into its own face.

Putting Dwight Howard on the couch: Thanks to all the discussion about whether the Orlando center would be traded, the Magic were the most-discussed NBA team this week. All but 3.5 of the 20.75 minutes this week devoted to the Magic was Howard-focused. His decision to remain with Orlando presented some severe coitus interruptus for certain ESPN analysts, and Stephen A. Smith and Chris Broussard were left analyzing Howard's demeanor at press conferences, wondering if Howard was truly happy about staying with the Magic. To repeat: They were doing this based off his answers at a press conference, where athletes rarely show any emotion outside of boredom. Next up on SportsCenter: The Budweiser Phrenology Minute.

Advertisement

Hockey coverage broke records this week: Sidney Crosby returned to the Penguins' lineup on Thursday, and the NHL got a sizable bump in air time. SportsCenter allotted more than five consecutive minutes of highlights and reaction from Crosby's first game back. That's the longest uninterrupted stretch of hockey discussion on SportsCenter in all of 2012. As a point of comparison, ESPN gave the same amount of time—5.25 minutes—to President Obama filling out his bracket and chatting awkwardly with Andy Katz.